Biography
Emerging from New York City during the late 1970s, the short-lived experimental post-punk outfit Capital Punishment assembled while its participants were still enrolled in high school. Its sole recorded effort, the 1982 album Roadkill, blended post-industrial synth textures, jagged new-wave edges, and disquieting sound-collage elements into an arresting whole. The release might have vanished into obscurity were it not for the presence of drummer Ben Stiller, who later achieved worldwide renown as an actor, comedian, and director.
Conceived in 1977 by Kriss Roebling and Tony Converse, the lineup also included Peter Zusi and Peter Swann. Working with rudimentary electronics, tape loops, guitars, percussion, and an occasional sitar, the inexperienced players rehearsed inside Roebling’s apartment and tracked material across multiple New York studios, never aiming for commercial release. The group never played live, and after issuing Roadkill the members disbanded, each eventually pursuing more prominent endeavors.
Decades afterward, Mike Sniper of Blank Dogs, then employed as a used-record buyer at Brooklyn’s Academy Annex, encountered a copy of the LP and was immediately struck by its quality. He located the former participants, leading to a 2018 reissue on his Captured Tracks imprint.
Conceived in 1977 by Kriss Roebling and Tony Converse, the lineup also included Peter Zusi and Peter Swann. Working with rudimentary electronics, tape loops, guitars, percussion, and an occasional sitar, the inexperienced players rehearsed inside Roebling’s apartment and tracked material across multiple New York studios, never aiming for commercial release. The group never played live, and after issuing Roadkill the members disbanded, each eventually pursuing more prominent endeavors.
Decades afterward, Mike Sniper of Blank Dogs, then employed as a used-record buyer at Brooklyn’s Academy Annex, encountered a copy of the LP and was immediately struck by its quality. He located the former participants, leading to a 2018 reissue on his Captured Tracks imprint.
Albums
Singles
